Navigated urban floating office or residential structure for independent parties

ABSTRACT

Structures, systems and methods are disclosed for navigating a vessel, typically through the waterways of a single urban region (e.g., San Francisco Bay), that can be used as a floating structure for residences or offices, for independent parties. Also disclosed are structures, systems and methods for navigating such a vessel that minimize energy use while satisfying the logistical needs of parties using the vessel, as well as satisfying laws that restrict the movement and location of navigable structures. Also disclosed are structures, systems and methods for navigating such a vessel that satisfy laws that regulate the environmental impact of a such vessel, and that ensures the safety and health of people using this vessel.

1. CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under a statute, 35 U.S.C. §119(e), toprovisional U.S. Patent Application (Ser. No. 61/387,835), filed 29 Sep.2010, the entire disclosure of which is herein incorporated by referencein its entirety and for all purposes.

2. NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT

Parts of this patent application include materials that are subject tocopyright protection. The owner of the copyrights has no objection tothe facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document itself, orof the patent application, as it appears in the files of the UnitedStates Patent and Trademark Office, but otherwise reserves all rightswhatsoever in such included materials protected by copyright.

3. BACKGROUND 3.1 Technical Field

The technical field of invention comprises the intersection of thetechnical fields of: static structures (e.g., buildings) [USPTO Class52, IPC8 Class E04], ships or other waterborne vessels [USPTO Class 114,IPC8 Class B63], and navigation [USPTO Classes 701/200:226, IPC8 ClassesG01C 21/00:36].

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention is useful in providing new methods and systems formanufacturing opportunities relating to office and residentialstructures in urban areas.

3.2 Centuries of Living in the City or Living on the Sea

For centuries, the allure and usefulness of life in the big citycontinues to increase. The mix of cultures, entertainment, education,business, living, dining, transportation, political and otheropportunities makes cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York,Lisbon, Cartegena, Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Sydney thelarge, exciting, thriving urban environments that continue to attractnew residents.

As well for centuries, people have been drawn to life at sea. Call it aprimal urge drawn from our evolutionary origins in the sea to migrationsalong the coasts. Call it a desire for the different—the stability ofland exchanged for the dynamics of water. From ocean explorers to oceantraders to ocean living (seasteading), many are drawn to water beyond aswim at the beach, or driving along California's Pacific Coast Highway,Costa Rica's Costanera, Australia's Great Ocean Road, or Spain's CostaDel Sol.

It is very surprising then, that over the centuries, there has been afailure to truly combine both experiences—living on the waters by thecity. The yalis of Istanbul, houses with one side directly adjacent tothe water, e.g., are as close as you can get from the land side, thenext step being to moor residences immediately offshore, e.g.,houseboats, junks and boatels. But here evolution has mostly stopped dueto multiple technological problems others have failed to solve.

3.3 Defects and Inadequacies Houseboat/Oceanboat/Riverboat Living

A popular form of living nearest to the waterways of an urban region istraditional single occupancy/family houseboats which are moored/securedto land (especially for vital connections for power/water/sewage), asseen, for example, in houseboat communities that are located in theshallow waters of San Francisco and Seattle bays, and moored junkcommunities (one family fishing vessels) of Aberdeen Harbour in HongKong, and moored oddities such as the 1850s floating church inPhiladelphia, or the Tai Pak Floating Restaurant moored in AberdeenHarbour.

Many patents have issued for new designs of houseboats, for example,from U.S. Pat. No. 3,581,692 to U.S. Patent Application 2007/056498. Afew patents have been issued for related forms of urban moored floatingliving, including JP2003591 and WO99/20521 (moored, ship-like structuresused as residences), and FR2599706 and GB 1297245 (moored floatinghotels). Non-patent examples for moored lifestyles include new designsfor houseboats from Erikstad Architecture, the moored barge for artistsin New York City (the WaterPod); an analysis of moored barges forapartments in a Swedish university thesis, “Apartment barges—a comfortand safety analysis”, the Edge (a thesis studying moored floatingneighborhoods for the city of Richmond in British Columbia); the mooredElizabeth River Learning Barge; and the moored floating camp River ofTrees in the Atchafayala basin. Such moored structures pose few, if any,navigation problems that are found in urban waterways, because of theirnearly constant physical connections to the shore/pier/land.

At the great expense of abandoning daily life in an urban region, arenon-urban vessels travelling the oceans. Examples include U.S. Pat. No.4,732,103, a barge converted into an offshore residential structure; themassive, globally-navigated floating pseudo-cities such as the FreedomShip (www.freedomship.com) and the Residential Ocean Liners(www.residentialvessels.com), and aircraft carriers. Not only is regularliving in a single urban region prohibited with such vessels, but alsosome of these vessels (and their predecessors, cruise ships) have hulldepths (e.g., 25 to 40 feet) that prevent them from being navigated inmost parts of the waterways of an urban region. Such vessels, whichconsume large amounts of fuel, have few navigation problems, if any, inthe waterways of an urban region, with the exception of moving to/from apier for a short-term visit, similar to cargo container ships.

Also at the great expense of abandoning daily life in a single urbanregion, are non-urban temporary housing floating on rivers. Examplesinclude U.S. Pat. No. 3,964,418 (a large campground on a barge thatcarries recreational vehicles between cities on a river); theyet-to-be-funded River Cities Condos project, a huge barge structure forcondominiums that travels between cities of the flood-prone MississippiRiver (www.rivercitiescondos.com); and a variety of river-based floatinghotels such as the Boatel Houseboat on the Murray River in Australia.River-based floating housing has a simple, one-dimensional,non-intersecting navigation problem when not moored—avoid hitting thevessels fore and aft, and then only for river regions with a greatdensity of traffic (most river-based floating housing/hotels travel inregions or rivers that are far from any urban area).

3.6 Problems to be Resolved

For more than 40 years, others have failed to teach a solution to theproblem of navigating a floating structure for residences and/or officeswithin the waterways of an urban region, for a plurality of hours a dayfor most days of the year, where multiple technical problems need to besolved, such as the daily intermodal transportation needs of multipleindependent parties/families who occupy the structure, and the problemsof satisfying the navigation and health laws of multiple federal, stateand local agencies. For more than 40 years, others have failed to makeuse of anchorage areas within the waterways of an urban region to helpsolve such problems.

For more than 40 years, others have failed to teach how to solve to thelogistic problems of supplying occupants of this type of navigatedstructure with consumables and arranging intermodal transportation(e.g., from a structure to a transit system), etc., while supplying theenergy for navigating the structure for a plurality of hours of the dayfor many days of the year.

For more than 40 years, others have failed to offer for sale any type ofhigh-priced residential properties that are located on a vessel used asa floating structure for residences or offices for independent partiesthat is navigated throughout the waterways of a single urban region. Forover 40 years, others have failed to motivate developers of real estateto research, develop, manufacture and sell residences and offices basedon the structures, systems and methods that are disclosed herein,especially in lucrative real estate markets such as San Francisco,Seattle, Rio de Janeiro, Sydney, Lisbon and Hong Kong.

One reason for the failure of others to so innovate is the sheercomplexity of navigational and logistical problems that arise in thewaterways of a single urban region. In sharp contrast to theone-dimensional navigation of rivers (upstream, downstream), are urbanwaterways that pose two-dimensional navigation problems, with multipleforms of crisscrossing traffic that can be daily, weekly and/or monthly(e.g., container ships, recreational vessels, day ferries, sailboats,etc.),

These more complex navigation problems create unsolved expensiveproblems of energy supply minimization that arise from navigating aresidence or office structure through the waterways of an urban regionfor a plurality of hours a day for many days of the year.

All of these technical problems are further complicated by the randomship-to-shore navigation requirements of residents (e.g., going to work,leisure activities, emergencies, etc.), as opposed to the controlledflow, e.g., of guests of cruise ships.

4. SUMMARY

In a first aspect, described herein is a residential or office structurefor independent parties, including a first vessel capable of navigatingthe waterways of a single urban region. Additionally, the structureincludes at least one navigation system that controls the movement ofthe first vessel along at least one route through the waterways of asingle urban region. Additionally, the structure includes at least oneenergy management system for determining at least one navigational routefor use by said navigation system to move said first vessel for aplurality of hours for any of the days of the year in which said firstvessel is moved, with, for example, said route including coordinates ofat least one anchorage area.

5. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments of the invention will be better understood bymaking reference to the following detailed description of the attacheddrawings, in which FIGS. 1 to 14 represent:

FIG. 1 is a map of part of the San Francisco Bay region.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are exemplary lists of other urban regions with waterways.

FIG. 4 is a generalized diagram of the San Francisco Bay region.

FIG. 5 is a template version of the diagram of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating two daily navigable routes for aNUFORS.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a longer, more scenic, navigable routefor a NUFORS.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating some of the General Anchorage areas ofSan Francisco Bay, while

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a region of Regulated Navigation Areasof San Francisco Bay.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a daily navigational route for aNUFORS.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a daily navigational route for aNUFORS.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating variances in daily routes for aNUFORS.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a daily navigational route for aNUFORS.

FIG. 14 contains examples of anchorage information.

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanyingdiagrams which illustrate several embodiments of the invention. It isunderstood that other embodiments may be utilized, and that mechanical,compositional, structural, electrical, and operational modifications maybe made without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure. The following detailed description is not to be understoodin a limiting sense.

6. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 6.0 Index to Section 6

Section 6 of the Detailed Description is divided into 7 parts:6.1—Definitions; 6.2—Exemplary Urban Regions; 6.3—Exemplary Vessels;6.4—Exemplary Residences or Offices; 6.5—Exemplary Energy ManagementSystems, Methods and Economics; 6.6—Exemplary Navigational Systems andMethods; and 6.7 Other Exemplary Aspects.

6.1 Definitions

The terms “resident” and “occupant” used herein typically refer to aperson substantially, and continually, using either a residentialstructure or an office structure, typically with the person being a(partial) owner, an employee, or a renter, of the residence or office.An office structure can be used, for example, for administrative,marketing, client support and/or vending purposes.

The phrase “independent parties” used herein typically refers to two ormore independent groups of related people with partially disjointrequirements for navigation, intermodal transport, and logistical needs,when using and occupying their shared residential vessel. For example, afloating residence can comprise at least two groups of residents: thefirst group can be a family of four people (two parents and twochildren), while the second group can be a single person, an unmarriedcouple, or two roommates (with similar inter- and intra-relationships asif they lived in an apartment building on land). Each group typicallymakes collective decisions as to their navigational and transport needs,but these needs are not necessarily equivalent for the two groups.Satisfying both sets of needs can require compromise that can becoordinated by the vessel's pilot and/or navigational system. In anotherexample, a floating office structure can comprise at least two groups ofone or more occupants who work for different corporations, or at leasttwo groups of one or more occupants within one corporate structure.

The terms “waterway” or “waterways” used herein typically refer to anynavigable body of water, including rivers, lakes, bays, estuaries (bayswith significant fresh water flows), seas, oceans and canals. Typically,to be navigable, a waterway must meet several criteria, including: beingdeep and wide enough for the vessels using it to be navigated through,being free of navigation barriers, and with average currents mild enoughto allow the vessels to be navigated through with or without beingpropelled. One example of a waterway is a bay adjacent to at least onecity, such as San Francisco Bay, Baia de Guanabara or Tokyo-wan. Bodiesof water in an urban region are referred herein as either “waterway” or“waterways”. For example, the entire body of water in San Francisco Baycan be referred to as comprising one waterway, or comprising twowaterways: San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay (arbitrarily delimited bythe Richmond bridge), or these two main waterways plus the smallerbays—San Rafael, Richardson, Grizzly/Suisun/Honker and San Leandro (nowmostly a marsh). Regardless of such labels, the references are to onecontiguous body of water for vessels to navigate in.

In the United States, the Department of Homeland Security is responsiblefor the general regulation of navigation on American waterways. Suchregulations, and more information, are available at:www.navcen.uscg.gov/mwv/navrules/rotr_online.htm as of September 2009.

The acronym “NUFORS” (“Navigated Urban Floating Office ResidenceStructure”) used herein typically refers to a vessel used as aresidential, or office, structure occupied by independent parties, thatis navigated in the waterways of an urban region, wherein said vessel isnavigated while satisfying one or more governmental regulations onnavigation, housing, health and environmental protection.

The term “tender” used herein typically refers to a vessel or a vehiclegenerally used to transport people and/or supplies to and from a NUFORSand another NUFORS, or to and from a land-based portal. Typically, atender is smaller than an NUFORS, e.g., a powerboat. In regions wherethere are more than one NUFORS, one or more tenders can be sharedbetween the NUFORSes. For a sufficiently large NUFORS, a smallhelicopter can be used as a tender. A tender can have its base ofoperations onshore (for example, a company that operates a shuttleservice for one or more NUFORSes using one or more tenders, similar totug boat services offered in many ports), or the tender can have itsbase of operations on a NUFORS. While most tenders are powered,occupants of a NUFORS can also use self-propelled vessels (e.g., akayak) to connect to land-based portals. Ambitious residents can simplyjump off the vessel and swim to shore.

6.2 Exemplary Urban Regions with Waterways

The terms “single urban region” and “urban region” used herein typicallyrefer to a region with at least one navigable waterway, a waterway thattypically can be characterized as being located adjacent to at least onecity; and/or where the waterway can be adjacent to an ocean; and/orwhere the waterway can be substantially isolated from an adjacent oceanby natural or artificial barriers; and/or where the waterway can providesufficient space for two-dimensional navigational routes; and/or wherethe infrastructure in the surrounding urban environment can provide avariety of social, medical, educational, occupational, entertainment,transportation, telecommunications, and energy opportunities, and otherresources.

Typically, an urban region has natural or artificial structures thatprovide some/much protection from ocean-driven storms for vessels on thewaterway. For example, the hills of the city of San Francisco (such asTwin Peaks) and of the Golden Gate National Recreational Area in Marinnaturally protect San Francisco Bay from the worst of ocean-driveninclement weather (similar protection is provided by the Coronadopeninsula for San Diego Bay, and the Rockaway Peninsula for JamaicaBay). Paradise Island similarly provides protection to vessels in NassauHarbour. Similarly are artificial structures such as the Causeway BayTyphoon Shelter in Hong Kong that provide such protection.

FIG. 1 is a chart of part of the San Francisco Bay, an example of asingle urban region with a waterway, comprising San Francisco Bay(basically the region bounded by the Richmond, Golden Gate and San Mateobridges) and San Pablo Bay (the region north of the Richmond Bridge).Not depicted is South Bay (the region south of the San Mateo Bridge).Angel Island appears approximately in the center of the chart, with thecity of San Francisco to the south (and with Alcatraz Island betweenAngel Island and San Francisco), and the cities of Oakland and Berkeleyto the east.

Some characteristics of an urban region with a waterway, as illustratedusing San Francisco Bay, include the adjacent city/cities of SanFrancisco, Oakland, Berkeley and Richmond; where the adjacent ocean isthe Pacific Ocean; where the (natural) isolating barriers are the hillsof San Francisco and Marin counties; where the two-dimensionalnavigational routes include in/out-bound ocean traffic from the GoldenGate Bridge to the piers/docks of South San Francisco, Oakland andRichmond, ferry traffic between San Francisco, Alameda and Marincounties, as well as recreational and fishing vessels crisscrossing theBay; and where there are ample resources and opportunities, including:social (e.g., Fisherman's Wharf, China Town, North Beach, and JackLondon Square); medical (e.g., University of California at San FranciscoHospital); educational (e.g., UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco);occupational (e.g., the business districts of San Francisco and Oakland,etc.); entertainment (e.g., Union Square shopping and theater district);transportation (e.g., the MUNI, CALTRANS and BART public transitsystems, with connections to the San Francisco and Oakland Internationalairports); and telecommunications (e.g., the many landline, wireless,cable and Internet systems that are commercially available).

FIGS. 2 and 3 are exemplary lists of other single urban regions withwaterways adjacent to attractions that are similar to those available inthe San Francisco Bay region, other regions in which the systems,structures and methods disclosed herein can be used. In the UnitedStates, there are the bays of Boston (Boston Harbor, and Cape Cod andBuzzards Bays), Puget Sound (centered on Seattle, Wash.), New YorkHarbor (especially the Upper and Lower New York bays), Long Island Sound(located between Connecticut and Long Island), Chesapeake Bay (adjacentto the city of Baltimore), and Tampa Bay. Throughout the world in theAmericas, Europe, Africa and Asia, there are other urban regions withwaterways, such as Victoria Harbour/Kowloon Bay adjacent to the citiesof Hong Kong and Kowloon, Port Phillip Bay adjacent to the city ofMelbourne, and Baia de Guanabara adjacent to Rio de Janeiro.

Not all of the waterways listed in FIGS. 2 and 3 have all of thecharacteristics of waterways such as San Francisco Bay. MassachusettsBay adjacent to the city of Boston on the Atlantic Ocean, SantaMonica/San Pedro bays adjacent to the city of Los Angeles, and Bahia dePanama adjacent to the city of Panama on the Pacific Ocean, have lesserdegrees of isolation from the ocean (and thus can have more inclementsurface water conditions that have to be compensated for, such as highwaves from storms in the ocean off of Boston), and/or having shallowbays (such as the waterways close to shore in Boston and Panama City).In some cases, offshore (covered) harbors (for example, similar toJapanese patent application JP63002789 for an offshore harbor foryachts) can be built to shelter the vessels that are disclosed hereinduring inclement water conditions, or coastal land can be purchased tobuild a traditional marina or harbor.

Similarly, the coastal waterways of Beirut and Tel Aviv can be tranquilenough (due to the calm waters at the Eastern end of the MediterraneanSea) that a NUFORSs has little need for natural/artificial structuresfor protection from rougher sea conditions. A NUFORS can be navigatednear the coast of such cities, for example, hugging the Beirutshoreline, back and forth, between the northern beach of Aajram, passingby the western end of Beirut, to the southern beach of Ramlet Al-Baida,along a route of approximately 12 miles in one direction.

Some urban waterways near the bays can be used for the structures,systems and methods that are disclosed herein. Cities such asWilmington/Philadelphia and Quebec are near bays in that their immediatewaterways (Delaware River; Saint Lawrence River) are immediate tocoastal waterways (Delaware Bay, Gulf of Saint Lawrence).

6.2.1 Illustrative Example San Francisco Bay

In a variety of sections of the Detailed Description below, the SanFrancisco Bay region is used as the location for a variety of examplesthat teach how to use the systems, structures and methods that aredisclosed herein in other urban regions with waterways. These examplesthat are disclosed herein can be used analogously by a NUFORS in anyurban region, similar to the San Francisco Bay region, that has awaterway with regulated shipping channels, anchorage areas, land-basedtransportation portals (piers, docks) and other constraints onnavigation for which the systems, structures and methods that aredisclosed herein that provide useful solutions.

FIG. 4 is a generalized diagram of the San Francisco Bay region,depicting the major cities and landmarks. The labels “SAN FRANCISCO”,“SAUSALITO”, “TIBURON”, “SAN RAFAEL”, “RICHMOND”, “BERKELEY”, “OAKLAND”,“HAYWARD”, “SAN MATEO”, and “SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO” refer to citiesadjacent to the bay. The bay waters are labeled by “BAY”, and the oceanwaters are labeled with “PACIFIC”. The labels “GGB”, “RSFB”, “OBB” and“SMHB” refer to the Golden Gate, Richmond San Rafael, Oakland Bay andSan Mateo Hayward bridges. Finally, three main bay islands are labeledas “AI”, “AL”, and “TI”, referring to the Angel, Alcatraz, andTreasure/YerbaBuena islands.

In some examples below, Alcatraz Island is used as a reference point fornavigation purposes (or, for example, in Puget Sound, one can use BlakeIsland as a reference point; or in Sydney Harbor, one can use FortDennison as a reference point). Alcatraz Island is located approximatelyat a longitude of 122 degrees, 25.5 minutes west and at a latitude of 37degrees, 49.5 minutes north. Blake Island is located approximately at alongitude of 122 degrees, 29.5 minutes west and at a latitude of 47degrees, 32.25 minutes north. Fort Dennison is located approximately ata longitude of 151 degrees, 13.5 minutes east and at a latitude of 33degrees, 51.3 minutes south. Globally, one nautical mile isapproximately one minute of latitude in distance. At the equator, onenautical mile is approximately one minute of longitude in distance. Inthe region of San Francisco Bay, one nautical mile is approximately oneminute, 16 seconds of longitude in distance. By international agreement,one nautical mile is defined as 1,852 meters.

FIG. 5 is the diagram of FIG. 4 minus many of the annotations, to beused as a template below to illustrate exemplary navigational routes ina waterway that solve technical problems caused by the constraints ofoperating a NUFORS.

6.3 Exemplary Vessels

A variety of individual vessels, and couplings of vessels, can be usedto support residences or offices that are based on the systems andmethods disclosed herein, especially vessels with hull designs andengine configurations that require minimal amounts of energy forslow-speed travel (e.g., one nautical mile per hour) while providingmaximal stability under regular conditions of the water surface. Anysuch vessel is sufficient, as long as it can be navigated using thesystems and methods disclosed herein. Such a vessel can either beself-propelled, or propelled (e.g., pushed or pulled) by another vesselsuch as a tugboat.

An example of one vessel that can be used to support residences is abarge. A barge can provide a large surface area for supportingresidences and/or offices, with leisure and recreational spaces adjacentto the residences and/or offices (e.g., lawns or gardens). Additionally,the long length and wide widths of barges result in moments-of-inertiathat minimize uncomfortable rocking or rolling of the barge due toregular water conditions.

Examples of other vessels that can be used to support residences basedon the systems and methods disclosed herein include double-hullcatamarans often used as a ferry on a bay; and couplings of individualvessels, for example mechanically and/or electrically coupling at leasttwo motorboats or yachts to create similarly-sized residential spaces asavailable on a barge. For example, 12 motorboats can be arranged in a 6by 2 column format, with some engines removed and the remaining enginesjointly controlled by a navigation system.

Additionally, publication of this disclosure, and initialcommercialization activities, will attract the interest of vesseldesigners, who can create new designs for vessels to make maximum use ofthe structures, systems and methods disclosed herein, especially withregards to navigation and energy management.

Any type of engine can be used to propel such vessels, including enginesfueled by diesel, gasoline, electricity, and/or biofuel. The lowhorsepower requirements to navigate such vessels at slow-speed in urbanregions with generally moderate to hot climates allows diesel engines tobe used to propel the vessel's movement, where the diesel engines aremodified to use simple fuels derived from biomass such as methanol ordimethyl ether (DME).

For example, consider a barge of dimension 270 feet by 50 feet(approximately 82.3 meters by 15.2 meters). The surface of the vesselcan be divided into different partitions for residences. For example,four 30 foot by 30 foot, two to four floor, residences can be built onthe top of such a barge, with the remaining surface area covered with 10foot wide areas of grass and dirt between residences to recreate thesuburban household experience on a vessel. A 70 foot-wide barge canprovide even more outdoor space for the residents. The remaining surfacespace can be used for a navigation tower and/or pad for a smallhelicopter. A bay structure can be fitted to the front or back of thebarge with detachable connections for one or more tenders, to provideresidents of the NUFORS with transport to land-based portals such aspiers and docks.

6.4 Exemplary Residences or Offices

Residences or offices supported by a vessel used in the structures,systems and methods that are disclosed herein can be of a variety ofarchitectural styles, and can be constructed from a variety of materials(e.g., wood, metal, plastics, canvas, etc.). The residences or officescan be mostly unattached to each other (as are houses typically insuburban areas), or mostly attached to each other (as are apartments inapartment buildings). There are few constraints on the architecturalstyle and materials used to build the residences or offices, other thanthat they are physically supportable by the vessel. Architectural stylesthat minimize the weight load are preferred for lessening fuelrequirements to move the vessel.

A variety of architectures are possible. For example, a storage area canoccupy space under the surface deck of a barge. The first floor of abuilding, on the upper surface of the barge, can include a living roomand dining room for a residence, or a reception room for an office. Thesecond floor and third floor can include one or more bedrooms, or officespace. Such residences can be similar in size and shape to townhousesfound in residential complexes in cities (such as are found at theGolden Gateway Center in San Francisco). Or, for example, the exteriorof the residence or office can have the shape of a geodesic, a pyramid,or a bottle of Patron tequila.

6.5 Exemplary Energy Management Systems, Methods and Economics

One technical problem solved with the structures, systems and methodsdisclosed herein is that of the fuel requirements that arise from theneed to provide power to the engine(s) of a NUFORS to keep the vesselsubstantially in motion for a plurality of hours for most days of theyear during which the vessel has to be navigated, if not for all hoursof the days for all days of the year. Where long-term anchorage, in amostly fixed location, is permitted by law, as an option, the NUFORS cansave energy by mostly remaining at rest, navigating when necessary tosatisfy applicable laws or needs of the occupants. Examples of routesfor energy management and navigation for the San Francisco Bay regionare disclosed below to teach how to solve such energy problems in anyurban waterway.

Consider two possible daily navigational routes in the San Francisco Bayregion. The first route is approximately travelling each day between twoanchorage points between General Anchorage 9 offshore from Hunters Pointin San Francisco (approximately at a longitude of 122 degrees, 21minutes, west; latitude of 37 degrees, 44 minutes, north), and GeneralAnchorage 5 offshore near Red Rock island (approximately at a longitudeof 122 degrees, 26 minutes, west; latitude of 37 degrees, 56 minutes,north). Specifications for latitude/longitude that are disclosed hereincan be used as entries for coordinates for navigational routesprogrammed into automated navigational systems operable to guide themovements of a NUFORS.

The distance between two anchorage points in those two areas isapproximately 12 nautical miles, creating a daily travel distance of 24nautical miles, for example, at an average speed of one nautical mileper hour (also known as a “knot”). FIG. 6 depicts two such routes asthick-arrowed lines, one route east of Treasure Island, and one routewest of Treasure Island. The route east of Treasure Island has theadvantage of mostly traversing General Anchorage areas where there isless large cargo traffic.

In general, many waterways in urban regions have space for navigationalroutes for a NUFORS that can be approximately 24 nautical miles. Forexample, one navigable route can be a route of 12 nautical miles long inthe Hudson River between Manhattan and New Jersey, in that part of theHudson River often referred to as the “North River” (the island ofManhattan is approximately 13.4 miles in length). Another example of anavigable route can be a route in Puget Sound with a northern endapproximately near Seattle and a southern end approximately one third ofthe distance to Tacoma near the northwestern part of Vashon Island (theland distance between Seattle and Tacoma is approximately 32 miles).Another example of a navigable route can be a route with a northwesternend near the city of Baltimore and a southeastern end offshore ofRiviera Beach that borders on the northern part of Chesapeake Bay.Another example of a navigable route can be a route with one end in theanchorages between the islands of Lantau and Hong Kong, and the otherend in Victoria Harbour. Many of these navigational routes can passthrough at least one anchorage area.

Minimizing fuel consumption at slow speeds (e.g., 1 nautical mile perhour) increases the utility of the vessels disclosed herein. Forexample, the two Bay of San Francisco routes depicted in FIG. 6 can betraversed by a one residential unit NUFORS that is equivalent in size tothree American Tug 49 boats from Tomco Marine Group (La Conner,Washington). This NUFORS has an equivalent length of about 50 feet andwidth of about 40 feet. If one creates a 10 foot wide grass lawn aboutthe residential unit, there is left a building area of approximately 30feet by 20 feet, space for a townhouse with two or three bedrooms,kitchen, dining area, living room and storage area. The American Tug hasapproximately a five-foot draft (draught), and thus is navigablethroughout most waterways in urban regions around the world, except forareas very near to the shore.

Published ratings for the American Tug 49 show that one boat requiresabout 0.33 gallons per hour at one to two knots, so that the equivalentof three boats in motion all day long between the two General Anchoragesas depicted in FIG. 6 will require approximately one gallon per hour, or8760 gallons per year. Marine diesel per gallon costs approximately 25%more than diesel for automobiles. Assuming a cost of $4 per gallon forautomobile diesel results in marine diesel costs of about $5 per gallon,which for 8760 gallons per year, creates an annual fuel cost ofapproximately $44,000 per year. For example, if the owner of a residenceof a NUFORS deposits $1,000,000 in an interest-earning bank accountearning 4.4% a year (or invests in a preferred stock), then the ownerwill have sufficient funds to cover his or her share of the costs of thefuel. This coverage of the fuel cost by a resident allows the NUFORS toremain in motion all hours of the day for all hours of the year, forthose urban regions where regulations do not permit the NUFORS to remainat rest. Where regulations permit the NUFORS to make use of restingareas, such as anchorage areas, for at least a few hours a day, and/orfor at least a few days a year, less fuel is needed for the NUFORS to benavigated most hours of the day for most days of the year, and lessmoney needs to be made available by the occupant. For example, when theNUFORS is in motion three quarters of the time (e.g., at restapproximately 6 hours each day, for example, anchoring in a GeneralAnchorage area approximately from 1 AM to 7 AM when many residents mightbe asleep), then the annual fuel cost drops to $33,000 per year, andthus requiring a 3.3% return in a bank account.

Minimizing fuel consumption by using slow speeds for the NUFORS (e.g.,0.5 to 2 nautical miles per hour), as well as being constrained by theoccupants of the residences or offices who want to make regular use ofone urban region, generally restricts the NUFORS to remain within oneurban region. At a higher speed of 2 to 3 nautical miles per hour, aNUFORS has a half-day range of about 20 to 30 nautical miles, and atleast for the urban regions listed in FIGS. 2 and 3, none are within 50nautical miles of each other (while multiple bays are listed for the NewYork City region, they are all one contiguous urban waterway). In somecases, an excursion trip may be possible to one other urban region (forexample, the distance from Seattle to Vancouver is about 110 miles),with the residents agreeing to cover the costs of the extra fuel neededfor higher speeds. Generally, though, the navigation of a NUFORS islimited to the waterways of one urban region.

Another exemplary navigational route can have a navigational distance ofapproximately 96 nautical miles, four times the distance of the firstscenario. FIG. 7 depicts a closed route in the Bay of San Francisco forwhich one circuit is somewhat longer than the route depicted in FIG. 6.The route depicted in FIG. 7 can be traversed three to four times a day,or only once or twice day, with some legs of the route traveled at ahigher speed (4 to 8 knots) where such legs traverse RegulatedNavigation Areas with more traffic. This longer distance allows theNUFORS to pass by land-portals (e.g., the Ferry Building in SanFrancisco) multiple times (e.g., morning, noon, evening, midnight) forresidents to go ashore or return to the NUFORS, as well as pass throughscenic areas (such as in the vicinity of Angel Island). The annual fuelcost for navigating the NUFORS all hours of the day for all days of theyear, approximately $132,000, can be paid for by earning a 6.6% returnon a $2,000,000 account balance.

A NUFORS can also be compared to a group of 32-foot Nordic Tug 32 boats(NT32) (available from Nordic Tugs, Burlington, Wash.). Four such tugsprovide enough surface area and engine power to transport the equivalentof one residence on the NUFORS. At six nautical miles an hour, the NT32requires approximately one gallon of gasoline an hour, or four gallonsan hour for the four NT32s. At $5/gallon for fuel for the NT32, the fuelcost for transporting the equivalent of one residence on the NUFORS isapproximately $20/hour, or about $170,000/year if the NUFORS iscontinually moving. At six nautical miles per hour, an NUFORS, forexample, can travel much further throughout the San Francisco bay,including into San Pablo Bay north of the Richmond San Rafael Bridge,and as far south as the Dunbarton Bridge. Similarly, at six nauticalmiles per hour, a NUFORS can travel further up the Hudson River, furthernorth or south away from Seattle, or further away from Baltimore intomore of Chesapeake Bay.

Residents of a NUFORS can deposit a few million dollars into an escrowaccount, the interest of which can be used to cover the fuel costs (andother costs such as labor). When the resident sells his residence toanother party, his/her deposit is returned, and the new resident can berequired to deposit a similar amount. Or the resident can sign acontract agreeing to periodically pay for their share of the fuel costvia check or bank transfer. In addition, residents can also deposit afew million dollars into another escrow account, with interest/dividendsearned allocated to pay salaries for pilots and crew members (or theresident can sign a contract guaranteeing periodic payments).Alternatively, the developer of a NUFORS can fund such accounts withpart of the profits of sales of a NUFORS.

Alternatively, some of the deposited money can be invested in theproduction of renewable biofuels, some of which can be used to fuel theengine or engines of the vessel, and/or some of which can be sold in theenergy markets to provide income to pay for other operational expenses.One type of renewable fuel can be dimethyl ether (DME), which can beproduced from methanol by dehydration, and is a liquid at roomtemperature under low pressure (providing half the BTUs/gallon ascompared to gasoline). DME has no carbon-carbon bonds, so it doesn'tproduce soot particulates or black smoke when burned, and requires alower pressure for fuel injection. A variety of diesel engines fornavigation uses can be modified to run on DME (with or withoutadditives). Methanol can be produced by the plasma gasification ofbiomasses such as hemp, switchgrasses, and agricultural wastes such assugar cane bagasse, in some cases, for a few dollars per gallon, withindustrially produced methanol available approximately for one dollarper gallon. For every two gallons of DME that is produced, one galloncan be sold to cover costs, and the other gallon used to power thevessels disclosed herein. With NUFORS vessels in multiple urbanwaterways in North and South America, one can locate a biofuelproduction facility, for example, in Central America (e.g., Costa Ricaand/or Panama, two countries with ample amounts of sun and rain idealfor growing biomass), with some fuel optionally sold into local marketswhile the remaining fuel is shipped north or south.

Using a barge as the foundational vessel for the residents requires lesspower (and therefore less fuel) than the equivalent of three Americantug 49s or four NT32s to transport the equivalent of one residence on aNUFORS, and for many urban waterways, there are tides that can be usedto move a NUFORS (for example, the morning tides in the Bay of SanFrancisco from the ocean inwards can flow up to four knots, with theafternoon flows in the opposite direction). Additionally, a NUFORS canbe powered by solar-diesel hybrid engines, such as some engines sold byIsland Pilot (www.dsehybrid.com), with some of the surface area of aNUFORS being covered with solar power cells. These factors furtherreduce the annual fuel cost for each residence of a NUFORS, or with thefuel saved, allow the NUFORS to be navigated more rapidly and/or forfarther distances.

An alternate solution to the problem of providing fuel to a NUFORS canbe to use electric engines that are supplied with renewable energysources and/or power generators that use fuel. For example, IndependenceGreen Yachts, offers for sale a 60 foot yacht powered solely by solarcells panels installed on the roof of the yacht. Electricity from thesolar cells is used to generate hydrogen from water, with the hydrogenstored in metal hydride storage systems to be used later in fuel cellsto generate electricity to power the electric engines that propel theyacht (alternatively, electricity from the solar cells can be stored inbatteries for future use). For navigation at slow speeds (up to a fewknots), sufficient power can be generated, though at a much greaterexpense than traditional fuel sources for vessels (while 60 foot yachtscan cost many hundreds of thousands of dollars, Independence's greenyachts cost over $2,000,000).

Such financial calculations show that residents with sufficient incomecan cover the costs of their share of the fuel to keep their NUFORSmostly in motion most hours of the day, for most days of the year (ifnot for all hours of the day for all hours of the year), as compared topeople with sufficient income to cover the costs of financing residenceson land that provide equally pleasurable views. For example, a penthousein downtown San Francisco in the St. Regis Residences, has four terracesthat provide a 360-degree panoramic view of the San Francisco Bayregion. The penthouse was bought for about $30,000,000 in 2005 and in2008 was put up for sale for $70,000,000 (“A $70 million view, S.F.seller hopes”, San Francisco Chronicle, 28 Aug. 2008, page C1). Whilethe high price is due much in part to location and elaborate furnishingsinside the apartment (such as a two-story waterfall, and a 13-seat moviecinema), millions of dollars of the value of the penthouse is due to theBay views. An uncompleted villa at 2920 Broadway in San Francisco wassold for $32 million, again with millions of dollars of the value of thepenthouse due to the Bay views it provides. Land itself in urban areasis quite valuable, even before housing is constructed. For example, atthe end of 2010, Salesforce.com acquired 14 acres in Mission Bay (southof downtown San Francisco) for $278 million.

6.6 Exemplary Navigational Systems and Methods

For a NUFORS to be useful, a variety of transportation, logistics andsafety problems should be solved simultaneously, constrained by therequirements of individuals, families and/or workers occupying a NUFORS.These problems include: 1) providing a navigation system that mostlycontinually moves a NUFORS, usually at slow speeds, subject to federal,state and/or local navigational laws and regulations; 2) providing anavigation system that navigates a NUFORS with convenient access to landportals that connect to, or are nearby to, land-based transportation,work, health, leisure, etc., services, systems and locations; 3)providing a navigation system that provides navigation for medicalemergencies; 4) providing a navigation system that satisfies periodicand random requests of inhabitants of a NUFORS to access land portals;5) providing a navigation system that can use renewable energy resources(e.g., tidal flow, solar and wind) to help navigate a NUFORS; 6)providing a navigation system that satisfies periodic and randomtransfers of supplies to/from a NUFORS; 7) providing a navigation systemthat can handle random navigation interactions that may negatively harma NUFORS; 8) provide a navigation system for a first NUFORS that caninteract with the navigation systems of a nearby NUFORS; 9) provide aNUFORS that minimizes use of energy and water and/or minimizes thevolume and toxicity of wastes; and/or 9) providing equipment to minimizethe need for navigation for water and waste disposal.

6.6.1 Navigation for a NUFORS that is Constrained by Laws or Regulations

Urban waterways are subject to multiple federal, provincial, stateand/or local laws and regulations. Usually such laws or regulations areenforced by a coast guard (for example, the United States Coast Guard),or equivalent governmental agency. In the United States, some of thegovernment agencies involved with such laws and regulations include theNavigation Center of the U.S. Coast Guard (www.navcen.uscg.gov)nationally, and Sector San Francisco Vessel Traffic Service of the U.S.Coast Guard (www.uscg.mil/d11/vtssf) locally. Background information on,and aerial photographs of, port facilities for urban regions withwaterways such as those disclosed in FIGS. 2 and 3 is available on theInternet (e.g., www.worldportsource.com).

In the United States, the Coast Pilot series is a set of nautical bookswith a variety of information important to navigators of waterways,including information on channel descriptions, coordinates andregulations for using anchorages, bridge and cable clearances, currents,tide and water levels, prominent features, pilotage, towage, weather,ice conditions, wharf descriptions, dangers, routes, traffic separationschemes, small-craft facilities and Federal regulations that areapplicable to navigation. The series, comprising Coast Pilot 1 to CoastPilot 9, are available at:www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/nsd/cpdownload.htm. Coast Pilot 7, forexample, includes information on San Francisco Bay.

Many urban waterways have regular traffic that, much like for a NUFORS,are constrained by these laws. For example, in the San Francisco Bayregion, there are ferry services between San Francisco, Oakland andMarin County (Sausalito, Tiburon and Vallejo), with multiple ferry ridesbetween these four cities/towns each day, all such trips satisfyinggovernmental laws and regulations (as must trips conducted by cruiseships and cargo ships that travel in the bay). In Puget Sound, forexample, there are ferry services between Seattle and Bainbridge Island,Bremerton and Vashon. In Rio de Janeiro, there is the Rio-to-Niteroiferry. For a NUFORS, with its generally slower speed, and with one goalof navigating to more desirable vistas, the navigation system can beprogrammed to determine routes for a NUFORS that intersect for as littletime as possible with routes for more regular traffic, such as ferries,and cruise sips and cargo ships.

Faster irregular traffic, such as power boats, or slower irregulartraffic, such as sail boats, tend to sail at certain times (e.g.,weekends) and locations (e.g., between Angel and Treasure islands in SanFrancisco Bay), so that a NUFORS navigation system can be programmed toavoid such areas when there is a high density of boats at these times.

Returning to the example of the waterways of San Francisco Bay, thefollowing are examples of navigational rules that can apply to thenavigation of a NUFORS. These rules are taken from the United StatesCoast Guard manual—“Navigation Rules: International—Inland”. Such rulescorrespond to federal laws in Title 33 of the United States Code, withsupplementary information in Title 33 of the Code of FederalRegulations. Similar rules apply to waterways in urban regions for othercountries that have adopted international navigation regulations.

Rule 9(a)—A vessel proceeding along the course of a narrow channel orfairway shall keep as near to the outer limit of the channel or fairway,which lies on her starboard side, as is safe and practicable.

Rule 9(d)—A vessel shall not cross a narrow channel or fairway if suchcrossing impedes the passage of a vessel which can safely navigate onlywithin such channel or fairway. The latter vessel may use the soundsignal prescribed in Rule 34(d) if in doubt as the intention of thecrossing vessel.

Rule 9(f)—A vessel nearing a bend or an area of a narrow channel orfairway where other vessels may be obscured by an interveningobstruction shall navigate with particular alertness and caution andshall sound the appropriate signal prescribed in Rule 34(e).

Rule 9(g)—Any vessel shall, if the circumstances of the case admit,avoid anchoring in a narrow channel.

Rule 10(c)—A vessel shall, so far as practicable, avoid crossing trafficlanes but if obliged to do so shall cross on a heading as nearly aspracticable at right angles to the general direction of traffic flow.

Rule 10(f)—A vessel navigating in areas near the termination of trafficseparation schemes shall do so with particular caution.

For many waterways in urban regions around the world, in addition to theabove laws that apply nationally, there can be local rules enforced bylocal, state and/or federal authorities. For example, the nationalUnited States Coast Guard has sectors, for example, Sector SanFrancisco, that regulate vessel traffic on waterways in their sector.USCG Sector San Francisco has rules, USCG Vessel Traffic Service SanFrancisco Users Manual (www.uscg.mil/D11/vtssf/vtssfum.asp), includingthe following rules that apply to a NUFORS, with similar rules inwaterways in other urban regions.

Inshore Sector: Sailing Plan—A vessel shall provide a sailing plan tothe VTS on channel 14 at least 15 minutes prior to getting underway froma berth or anchorage in the Inshore Sector. Position Reports: shall bemade: once a vessel is actually underway or upon entry into a VTS areas;when passing a reporting point; and after pilot change, departure ofpilot, or other change in person directing the movement of the vessel.

Route Intentions: All vessels shall be aware of and follow the SanFrancisco Bay traffic routing system. This system consists of a TrafficSeparation Scheme (TSS) offshore and Regulated Navigational Areas (RNAs)in the Inshore Sector. Any decision to deviate from the TSS or RNA mustbe made by the master or person in charge of the vessel. You shallnotify the VTS prior to deviating from TSS or RNA.

Anchorages (B). VTS administration of the anchorages includes ensuringproper separation of anchored vessels to prevent their swinging ordrifting into each other. The COTP has established a mandatoryseparation of 750 yards around anchored vessels over 300 gross tons.Vessels anchoring with 750 yards, or which “settle out” within 750 yardsof another vessel will be directed by the VTS to re-anchor at a greaterdistance. The vessel that was the last to arrive will normally be theone required to move.

Anchorages (F). No vessel may anchor in a “dead ship” status (propulsionor control unavailable for normal operation) at any anchorage, otherthan Anchorage 9, without the prior approval of the Captain of the Port.Any vessel anchoring in a “dead ship” status shall have one assist tugof adequate bollard pull on standby and immediately available (maximumof 15 minute response time) to provide emergency maneuvering. When thesustained winds are 20 knots or greater, or when the wind gusts are 25knots or greater, the tug must be alongside.

Recreation Areas: Recreation areas are intended primarily for use byrecreational vessels. Such areas should not be used by vessels of 300gross tons or more, except in case of emergency or specialcircumstances.

Traffic Lanes: Traffic lanes are intended for use by vessels of 1600gross tons and over; arrows on navigation charts indicate theappropriate direction of flow within each lane. The provisions of InlandNavigation Rule 9 apply to all vessels navigating in the traffic lanes.

Anchorages: Within the navigable waters of the Bay of San Francisco,anchoring is prohibited outside of designated anchorages except whenrequired for safety or with the written permission of the Captain of thePort.

Other regulatory authorities around the world govern navigation in theirports and waterways, and conditions for uses of anchorages. For example,the Marine Department of the Government of Hong Kong SpecialAdministrative Region administers the Port of Hong Kong(www.mardep.gov.hk/en/index.html). Administracao do Porto de Lisboaadministers the ports for Lisbon. FIG. 14 contains examples of anchorageinformation from around the world. A variety of publications, includingthe “Guide to Port Entry” (Shipping Guides Ltd, Reigate, Surrey, UK) andthe “World Port Index” (National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency,Bethesda, Md.), provide a variety of information about ports and bay,including anchorages and local navigation rules, for most ports aroundthe world.

6.6.2 Navigation for a NUFORS that is Constrained by Access to LandPortals

Periodically, often multiple times a day, a NUFORS can be navigated toprovide access to land portals, so that occupants can be transported totransportation systems on land, to be able to travel to locations forwork, shopping, entertainment, etc. Such access can be arranged at fixedtimes each day (e.g., circa 8 A.M. for traveling to work, 6 P.M. fortraveling back to a NUFORS, etc.) Other times for transport can bearranged at the request of one or more occupants. Occupants can betransferred by a variety of tenders.

For example, consider San Francisco bay, where residents of a NUFORSwant to make use of facilities and services in the city of SanFrancisco. The navigation system can navigate a NUFORS so that theNUFORS passes close by (or docks at) the piers at the Ferry Buildingand/or near Fisherman's Wharf. For nearby passage (for example, throughTemporary Anchorage 7), a tender attached to the NUFORS can transportresidents to/from the NUFORS and piers. Once at a pier, the residentscan transfer to ground-based transportation (foot, bike, rental car,cab, limo, public transit, etc.). The Ferry Building (and nearby piers)is approximately at latitude 122 degrees, 23.5 minutes and longitude 37degrees, 48 minutes. Fisherman's Wharf (and nearby piers) isapproximately at latitude 122 degrees, 25 minutes and longitude 37degrees, 48.8 minutes. One location inside Temporary Anchorage 7,convenient for transfer using a tender from the NUFORS to any of thesepiers in San Francisco, is at latitude 122 degrees, 23 minutes andlongitude 37 degrees, 49 minutes.

Traversing such pre-arranged connections typically don't require muchtime, given the close proximity of a NUFORS to the land-based portal(for connections without docking). Random connections requested byoccupants when a NUFORS is farther from such portals impose an extratime burden on the occupants, for example, in terms of extra traveldistance for the tender. For most hours of any one day, a NUFORS canremain mostly close to one side of a bay (e.g., closer to the SanFrancisco side of San Francisco Bay), if most or all residents prefer toconnect to land portals on that side of the bay.

For some waterways in an urban region, boat slips can be rented/owned toallow occasional docking of a NUFORS. For example, in Seattle, theSalmon Bay Marina Center (www.sbmcseattle.com) leases or sells slipsthat can accommodate vessels from 100 feet to 275 feet, with office andresidential space in the vicinity of the slips. Such space can be usedby a resident of a NUFORS who desires to remain on land for a fewnights, or who has missed one of the periodic transports to a NUFORS.For example, in the San Francisco Bay region, NUFORS docking space maybe leased in the Oakland Outer Harbor adjacent the now-closed OaklandArmy Base. For example, in the New York City region, NUFORS dockingspace may be leased in the vicinity of where the Newtown Creek meets theEast River.

6.6.3 Medical Emergencies

If a resident has a sudden desire for Chinese food (e.g., from HunanHome's Restaurant, in San Francisco), but a NUFORS is too far from aland portal, well, that's a disappointment/failure for the resident whohas to wait until a connection is more logistically feasible. But if aresident has a dire need for medical services, there can be no failure.For regular medical needs (e.g., such as a checkup or minor toothache),for which the resident is mostly ambulatory, periodic connections toland portals can suffice in terms of convenience for seeking treatment.For more critical medical conditions, when a NUFORS is sufficientlyclose to a land portal, and the resident is mostly ambulatory, theNUFORS can be navigated towards a land portal that is accessible byambulance, where the resident, for example, can be transported via atender. For example, in San Francisco Bay, a NUFORS can be navigatedclose to the piers that are near 20^(th) and 3^(rd) Streets. Theresident can be moved by tender to a pier, and met by an ambulance orother vehicle, and driven a short distance up 20^(th) Street, and thenone block left onto Portero Street to the San Francisco GeneralHospital.

When the resident is not ambulatory (e.g., a heart attack or stroke), orthe medical condition requires much more immediate treatment,arrangements can be made for transfer, by a helicopter or by the CoastGuard, of the medically-impaired resident, to a hospital with a traumacenter. For a NUFORS with sufficient space, a small helicopter (such asthe Robertson R22) can be stored onboard for use in emergency trips(and/or used for recreational trips). For example, in San Francisco Bay,a helicopter can be used to transfer a medically-impaired resident tothe centrally-located Oakland Children's Hospital (or the future UCSFMission Bay Med Center).

6.6.4 Navigation for a NUFORS that is Constrained by Requests ofOccupants of a NUFORS

Navigation terminals in each residence or office can provide occupantswith partial access to the navigation system of a NUFORS, for example,to allow the residents to view graphical displays of the current andprojected positions of the NUFORS, and to allow occupants to requestchanges in the schedule of the timing of future connections to landportals, etc.

With such terminals, residents can enter requests for additionalconnections, which the navigation system can use to determine thefeasibility of providing navigation for such connections, beforeindicating approval to the resident. For example, if a NUFORS passes theSan Francisco Ferry Building once an hour on the hour during the day,and a resident requests a connection at the half hour, and there are norequests from other residents, the navigation system can determine ifsuch a connection is possible (e.g., if nearby traffic is light, theNUFORS can be navigated to drift back and forth offshore near the FerryBuilding). The navigation system can be programmed to require a minimumtime (e.g., 30 minutes) as advance warning for any navigation requestsof the resident, and can bill a cost if the required fuel exceeds someagreed upon level.

Also, residents can request for specific navigation routes that providespecific vistas of the region. For example, in San Francisco Bay, ifthere are no requests from other residents, and bay traffic is light,the navigation system can determine a navigation route that satisfies aresident's request to travel about Angel Island.

6.6.5 Navigation for a NUFORS that is Constrained by Use of RenewableEnergy Sources

A NUFORS imposes an additional energy cost on its residents as comparedto residents who are moored—the cost of the fuel needed to propel thevessel so that the NUFORS can travel along the calculated navigationalroutes. One way to minimize such energy costs can be to use renewableenergy resources, such as tidal flows and solar energy panels (toprovide power to electric propulsion motors).

For example, in San Francisco Bay, a NUFORS can use tidal flows to moveup to the North Bay region, where with less water traffic, the NUFORScan save energy by remaining mostly at rest. When the tide reverses (onthe same day, or a following day), the NUFORS can move back to thecentral region of the bay. Similar tidal flows, for example, can be usedin the Tagus Bay near Lisbon.

6.6.6 Navigation for a NUFORS that is Constrained by Transfers ofSupplies

Periodically, though less frequently than the daily connection needs ofthe residents or occupants to land portals, a NUFORS needs to connect toland portals for facilitating the transfer of operational suppliesand/or wastes. For example, such transfers can occur during times whenresidents are imposing few navigational burdens, such as at night whenthe residents can be sleeping, or during the day when the residents canbe onshore. Alternatively, arrangements can be made for another vesselto transport supplies and/or wastes to and from a NUFORS.

Foremost for transfer can be operational supplies for navigating aNUFORS (e.g., fuel, oil, and engine equipment), which can be acquired attraditional port facilities. Such fuel can be used to navigate a NUFORS,provide heat for residents, provide electricity for residents, etc. Anadditional provision to be acquired is water, both for the needs of aNUFORS (e.g., cooling and cleaning equipment) and the personal needs ofoccupants (e.g., bathing, cleaning, consumption). Transfer of mail, foodsupplies, office supplies, and household items can be handled at thesame time.

The navigation computers on a NUFORS can be used to prepare orders offoods and other stuffs based on requests from one or more residents. Forexample, such orders can be forwarded to local supermarkets (e.g.,Safeway in San Francisco, Zona Sul in Rio de Janeiro, Coles Supermarketsin Sydney) and the like (e.g., Waiters On Wheels in San Francisco) forfulfillment and delivery to a land portal, after which ordered items areeventually conveyed to a NUFORS.

Acquiring supplies eventually leads to the need to eliminate wastes. Forexample, small volumes of waste can be temporarily stored on a NUFORS,and then transferred to a waste disposal service based on land. Anyurban waterway that experiences cruise and cargo ships already has muchof the port infrastructure needed to support the waste (and operationaland personal supply) needs of a NUFORS. The wastes can be transferredusing a tender associated with a NUFORS, or directly removed if theNUFORS is temporarily docked.

6.6.7 Navigation for a NUFORS that is Constrained by Random HarmfulIncidents

A navigation system for a NUFORS can be programmed to deal with randomincidents that threaten the safety of occupants and the integrity of theNUFORS. These incidents include collisions with other floatingstructures, collisions with fixed objects (e.g., bridges, underwaterterrain), and accidents on the NUFORS.

In most of these situations, navigation of a NUFORS is stopped, or issubstantially slowed. The navigation system can navigate the NUFORS incoordination with any rescue vehicle, e.g., with the slower NUFORS inmotion according to orders received from a rescuing vessel (e.g., aCoast Guard cruiser).

6.6.8 Navigation for a NUFORS that is Constrained by Navigation of AnAdjacent NUFORS

Given the popularity of the NUFORS concept, in any given urban region,there can be more than one NUFORS being navigated in the waterway, acommunity of sorts.

If more than one NUFORS use similar navigation systems, the navigationsystems can be programmed to simultaneously navigate all of theNUFORSes. For example, three NUFORSes can be arranged in a column, withthe NUFORS in front providing navigational guidance for the other two,similar to a floating train.

Alternatively, the navigation system of each NUFORS can model anotherNUFORS that is nearby, as just an additional vessel to be navigated awayfrom at regulated distances.

A navigation system for a NUFORS can be programmed to occasionally movea NUFORS sufficiently close to another NUFORS to allow the transfer ofsupplies and people. This coordinated navigation can minimize the numberof times that multiple NUFORSes need to access land portals tofacilitate the transfer of supplies, as well as provides opportunitiesto create an extended-area NUFORS across which occupants can socialize.

General System Configurations for Navigation and Energy Management

In view of the navigational considerations described above, thenavigation system and/or energy management system of a NUFORS (possiblyin conjunction with each other, or one system can be a sub-system of theother) may be configured or programmed to control movement of the NUFORSin the waterway of an urban region for all days of the year, or up tomost or some days of the year, e.g., up to 365 (every day of the year),310 (six days a week), 260 (five days a week), 182 (every other day ofthe year), 69 (five days a month plus nine holidays), or 52 (one day aweek) days of the year, in accord with one or more of the followingexemplary daily schemes for controlling the movement of the NUFORS:

-   -   a. the total length of the route of the NUFORS in a given day        may be in the range up to 100 nautical miles;    -   b. the total length of time of movement of the NUFORS in the        waterway in a given day may be less than 24 hours, with at least        one period of time in a given day when the NUFORS is not subject        to controlled movement (e.g., may be adrift in an anchorage, or        moored to a pier);    -   c. the speed of the NUFORS when subject to controlled movement        by the navigation system may be a substantially constant value        between 0 to 9 knots, or the speed may be controlled to vary in        a regular pattern within the aforementioned range;    -   d. the route of the NUFORS may be controlled by the navigation        system to be one or more straight segments, in the form of a        closed shape, such as a circular, elliptical, rectangular,        trapezoidal, pentagonal, or hexagonal shape (and smooth shapes        thereof), or a combination of these shapes (for example, a        straight line segment, followed by a loop around an island,        followed by a straight line segment); and    -   e. the route of the NUFORS in a given day may be controlled to        have at least one stopping point in any given day, whereby a        stopping point or area is a point at which or an area outside of        which the NUFORS does not generally move relative to the earth's        surface (aside from movement of the vessel about its stopping        point caused by currents or waves), for which the stopping point        may be an anchorage point or area or docking point or area.

Taking into account the schemes mentioned above, some real-lifepractical examples are now described with reference to particular urbanwaterways around the world. These examples are intended to benon-limiting on the invention and demonstrate the way in which theabovementioned schemes can be applied to solved the problems describedabove for any urban waterway.

Examples Of Navigation Routes that Satisfy Navigation Problems that areSubject to the Above Constraints

The following examples use the waterways of the San Francisco region toteach and illustrate navigational techniques for the structures, systemsand methods disclosed herein for the waterways of any urban region,especially those with anchorages. Routes in the following examples canbe programmed into the navigational systems and/or energy managementsystems, or determined dynamically by the navigational systems and/orenergy management systems.

FIG. 8 is a diagram depicting some of the General Anchorage areas of theBay of San Francisco, areas which are located mostly on the east side ofthe bay (areas 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9), and a Temporary Anchorage area (area7) between the northern San Francisco piers and Treasure Island. Theroutes depicted in FIG. 6, which traverse these general anchorages, canbe traveled daily in mostly continual motion at approximately onenautical mile an hour; or can be traveled via a stop-and-go pattern ofmotion, anchoring in each anchorage for a length of time, beforetravelling at a higher knot rate to the next anchorage, with the entirerange of motion averaging approximately one nautical mile per hour.Routes that are shorter than those depicted in FIG. 6 can be traveledmore slowly to save fuel, or traveled multiple times each day, whilelonger routes can be traveled more rapidly each day, or more slowly forroute completion requiring a few days.

One example of a route to be navigated many days of the year is for aNUFORS to remain at anchor, or slowly adrift, in General Anchorage 9during the late night, approximately from 1 AM to 7 AM, for example,offshore from Hunters Point, approximately at a longitude of 122degrees, 21 minutes and a latitude of 37 degrees, 44 minutes (a locationwhich provides nice views of the night skylines of San Francisco andOakland). Then at about 7 AM, the NUFORS starts travelling north,arriving in the waters between San Francisco and Oakland around 9 AM (sothat residents can take tenders to connect to transport for work orpleasure), and then is navigated much of the morning and afternoon inand around General Anchorages 4, 5 and 6 (which provides close shuttleaccess to Berkeley and Treasure Island). Around 5 PM, the NUFORS can benavigated back to the lower part of Anchorage 6, for example, to pick upresidents who are returning from their daily land-based activities.Depending on water traffic, the NUFORS can also be navigated in acounter-clockwise loop around Alcatraz Island in the early evening,providing residents with excellent views, and close access to thenightlife of San Francisco (e.g., Fisherman's Wharf, North Beach,Chinatown) via a tender to the northern piers. Afterwards, the NUFORScan be navigated south towards resting points in General Anchorage 9.

Such a daily route satisfies the navigation rules discussed above, whilesatisfying the logistical constraints of occupants, in particular,periodic transfer to transportation systems on land. The daily route canvary in numerous ways, with a NUFORS in motion and at anchor fordifferent amounts of times at different locations, with all of theseroutes travelling through the eastern General Anchorages 4, 5, 6, 8 and9. Relying on a variety of similar daily routes eases the familiarity oflocal authorities with the travels of a NUFORS, route plans which aretypically filed with such authorities.

Similar navigation routes can be designed for a NUFORS in other urbanwaterways with general anchorage areas. General anchorage areas providespace for more navigational solutions for navigating a NUFORS, which canoptionally either be in motion, or be at rest for as long as local lawspermit, in such areas. For example, if a NUFORS needs to be navigatedacross a shipping channel for which there is a cargo ship passingthrough, the NUFORS can mostly drift in a nearby general anchorage areauntil the cargo ship has cleared the area.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a region of the main RegulatedNavigation Areas of San Francisco Bay. When a NUFORS is navigatedoutside of a General Anchorage, it will typically traverse a RegulatedNavigational Area, typically narrow sections of the bay where heavyvessel traffic is being navigated to and from offshore locations, forexample, cargo ships moving from offshore under the Golden Gate Bridgewith a termination at the piers at Oakland Harbor. For example, for theBay of Francisco, the Captain of the Port has designated all major deepdraft ship channels as narrow channels or fairways, with some channelsdesignated as Regulated Navigation Areas to help organize trafficpatterns. (See “Rule 9 . . . A Rule to Live By”,http://www.uscg.mil/d11/vtssf/rule9.asp). In these areas, smallervessels should avoid impeding larger vessels under the terms of ColregsRule 9. Larger vessels are given deference due to their need for moretime and space to maneuver to avoid collision.

A NUFORS can satisfy Rule 9 regulations, for example, by having thepilot and/or navigation system obtain schedules of heavy vessel trafficin waterways such as the San Francisco Bay (or the waterways of PugetSound or Chesapeake Bay, etc.), and arrange navigational routes thatavoid Regulated Navigation Areas when there is scheduled traffic. Also,fuel that is saved while a NUFORS is at anchor or slowly moving in ananchorage area can be used to propel the vessel at a higher speed whileit is moving in, or crossing through, a Regulated Navigation Area, tofacilitate design of navigational routes that avoid collisions.

Examples of Daily Navigation Routes

FIG. 10 is an example of a daily navigational route with five segmentsfor a NUFORS that satisfies the navigational constraints describedabove, comprising linear segments A, B, C, D, and E. All times andcoordinates used below are approximate. For example, a route segmentthat starts at 8 AM and ends at 9 AM can easily start at 8:10 AM and endat 8:55 AM by having the NUFORS navigated at a faster speed. Or a mostlydue north segment can be replaced by a slightly longer route that can bemostly 30 seconds of longitude east or west or the original segment.FIG. 12 depicts some such varied routes. The route segments in FIGS. 10,11 and 12 are depicted as straight lines only for illustration purposes.For example, the five straight segments A to E in FIG. 10 can bereplaced by one smooth curve, or a combination of curves and lines.

For one example of a daily route, a NUFORS is located at the beginningof segment A (east of South San Francisco) centered at coordinates oflatitude 37 degrees, 41.75 minutes, north; and longitude 122 degrees,20.50 minutes, west; with the NUFORS at this location at approximatelymidnight. Segment A can be mostly located inside General Anchorage 9.Over the next six hours, the NUFORS can be navigated mostly due north,arriving at the end of segment A (and beginning of segment B) around 6AM, if the NUFORS travels the six nautical mile distance at an averagerate of one knot. The NUFORS can also start at another location inGeneral Anchorage 9, if from that location, the NUFORS can be in thevicinity of the beginning of Segment B around 6 AM. Indeed, the NUFORScan anchor near the end of segment A for the entire time between 12 AMand 6 AM.

Approximately from 6 AM to 8 AM, the NUFORS can be navigated alongsegment B, a distance of approximately 1.75 nautical miles, arriving atthe end of segment B (and beginning of segment C) around 8 AM, roughlymoving at a rate of 0.90 knots. The beginning of segment B can becentered at coordinates of latitude 37 degrees, 47.75 minutes, north;and longitude 122 degrees, 20.50 minutes, west. Segment B can be mostlylocated inside General Anchorage 8. Segment B can also be locatedapproximately three kilometers from the Port of Oakland, allowingresidents to be transported to the Port using a tender to connect to theEast Bay regional transportation system, for those residents that workor go to school or relax in the East Bay.

Approximately from 8 AM to 9 AM, the NUFORS can be navigated alongsegment C, a distance of approximately one nautical mile, arriving atthe end of segment C (and beginning of segment D) at 9 AM, roughlytraveling at a rate of one knot. The beginning of segment C can becentered at coordinates of latitude 37 degrees, 48.50 minutes, north;and longitude 122 degrees, 22.50 minutes, west. Segment C can be mostlylocated inside Temporary Anchorage 7. Segment C can also be located lessthan one kilometer from the northern piers of San Francisco (includingthe Ferry Building), allowing residents to be transported to the piersvia a tender to connect to the San Francisco regional transportationsystem, for those residents that work or go to school or relax in SanFrancisco (and/or points south along the peninsula).

Navigation strategies combining general anchorage areas (e.g., in whichSegment A can be located in the Bay of San Francisco), which can beproximate to regulated navigation areas (e.g., in which Segments B and Ccan be located in the Bay of San Francisco Bay) that can also beproximate to land-based transportation portals (e.g., the piers near theFerry Building in San Francisco), can be navigation strategies used tonavigate a NUFORS in other urban waterways, including navigationstrategies that keep the NUFORS closer to one area of land-based portals(for example, in San Francisco Bay, closer to the piers nearby the FerryBuilding) to minimize intermodal transport times. Once thesecombinations are determined, segmented navigational routes can bespecified that can be traversed at speeds/daily-distances approximatelyequal to one knot/24 nautical miles (or faster/longer if more fuel isused, or slower/shorter if less fuel is used). In the United States, theUnited States Coast Pilot series available atwww.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/nsd/cpdownload.htm provide coordinates for,and regulations for using, anchorage areas in the United States.

Segments B and C pose more navigational constraints, since when a NUFORSis traversing these segments, the route of the NUFORS can intersectactive shipping channels at times of the day when there is regularlyscheduled traffic, such as ferries and cargo ships. Fuel saved when aNUFORS is drifting in other segments (such as Segments A and E) can beused to propel the NUFORS at a higher speed, if needed, to avoid othertraffic while in Segments B and C. This method of fuel allocation andvarying speed can be used when navigating a NUFORS across an activeshipping channel in other urban waterways.

Approximately from 9 AM to 10 AM, the NUFORS can be navigated alongsegment D, a distance of approximately 1.09 nautical miles, arriving atthe end of segment D (and beginning of segment E) at LOAM, roughlytraveling at a rate of one knot. The beginning of segment D can becentered at coordinates of latitude 37 degrees, 49 minutes, 27 seconds,north; and longitude 122 degrees, 22 minutes, 54 seconds, west. SegmentD can end inside General Anchorage 6. Segment D can be far from thenorthern piers of San Francisco, but still reasonably reachable by atender. Segment D can be approximately three kilometers from theBerkeley piers, allowing the residents of a NUFORS to be transported tothe piers via a tender to connect to the East Bay transportation system.

Approximately from 10 AM to 1 PM, the NUFORS can be navigated alongsegment E, a distance of approximately 3.89 nautical miles, arriving atthe end of segment E (and beginning of the return navigational route) at1 PM, roughly traveling at a rate of 1.3 knots. The beginning of segmentE can be centered at coordinates of latitude 37 degrees, 50 minutes, 12seconds, north; and longitude 122 degrees, 21 minutes, 54 seconds, west.The end of segment E can be centered at coordinates of latitude 37degrees, 54 minutes, north; and longitude 122 degrees, 23 minutes, west.Segment E can be mostly located inside General Anchorage 6, startingapproximately in the southern side of the Anchorage and endingapproximately in the northern side. Navigational routes for Segment Ecan be quite varied, as long as at the end of travel in Segment E, theNUFORS is approximately near the location of Segment D, so that theNUFORS can start a southern journey near the end of the workday totravel approximately nearby ports and piers to transfer NUFORSresidents.

The second 12 hours of daily navigation for the NUFORS can beapproximately the same segment order in reverse. The NUFORS travelssegment E from approximately 1 PM to 4 PM, segment D from approximately4 PM to 5 PM, segment C from approximately 5 PM to 6 PM (and thus in aconvenient location to pick up residents returning from work, school orplay in San Francisco), segment B from approximately 6 PM to 8 PM (andthus in convenient location to pick-up residents returning from work,school or play in the East Bay), and segment A from approximately 8 PMto 12 AM.

Routes similar to that depicted in FIG. 10 allows a NUFORS to mostlytravel at a rate of one knot, minimizing economic constraints on fuelconsumption. The NUFORS can also be navigated through anchorage areasthat allow the NUFORS to temporarily slow down to drift rates to savefuel, using the saved fuel to later cross Regulated NavigationalAreas/shipping lanes at much higher rates (many knots) to avoid anyother traffic such as cargo ships or ferries, and thus satisfy allregional navigational rules. A route for a NUFORS can be timed to belocated approximately adjacent to land-based transportation portals(e.g., for the Bay of San Francisco, near the San Francisco piers andPort of Oakland) so that occupants can easily transfer back and forth tothe NUFORS via a tender at times coordinated to their work, educationalor entertainment needs.

The exemplary route specified above is mostly a route that, in earlymornings and evenings, can have a NUFORS located offshore of South SanFrancisco (with southern views of San Francisco and Oakland, views ofthe hills of the San Francisco and of the East Bay hills that are southof Oakland, and views of the Oakland and San Francisco airports), aroute that, in the late mornings and afternoons, can have the NUFORSlocated west of Berkeley (with northern views of San Francisco andOakland, views of the main Bay islands, and views of the Marinheadlands).

These route locations can be reversed, with a NUFORS located offshore ofSouth San Francisco in the late mornings and afternoons, and west ofBerkeley in the early mornings and afternoons. For such positioning, theNUFORS can approximately traverse Segment E from 12 AM to 6 AM, SegmentD from 6 AM to 7 AM, Segment C from 7 AM to 8 AM, Segment B from 8 AM to10 AM and segment A from 10 AM to 12 PM. In reverse, the NUFORS cantraverse segment A from 12 PM to 3 PM, Segment B from 3 PM to 5 PM,Segment C from 5 PM to 6 PM, Segment D from 6 PM to 7 PM, and Segment Efrom 7 PM to 12 AM.

The route for any one segment can be varied in numerous different ways,as long as the daily transfers between a NUFORS and the land satisfy thetiming needs of residences. For example, FIG. 12 shows a plurality ofdifferent routes for Segments A and E, as variants of the routes forSegments A and E in FIG. 10. Where routes in FIG. 12 are shorter orlonger than those in FIG. 10, the speed of the NUFORS can be adjusted tosatisfy any timing constraints for NUFORS-to-land transfers.

Exemplary routes specified above have a NUFORS being navigated at leasta few hours along both segments A and E, travelling west and south ofTreasure Island during segments B and C to facilitate transfer ofresidents of the NUFORS to/from land-based transportation portals.Optionally, a NUFORS can be navigated in a loop around Treasure Islandto traverse either Segment A or Segment E each day (and thus locatednorth of San Francisco and Oakland most of the day, or located south ofSan Francisco and Oakland most of the day). For example, to mostly avoidSegment A, the NUFORS can approximately traverse Segment E from 12 AM to6 AM, Segment D from 6 AM to 7 AM, Segment C from 7 AM to 8 AM, SegmentB from 8 AM to 10 AM, and then be navigated east and north of TreasureIsland (Segment F in FIG. 11) to a location in General Anchorage 6 neareither Segment E or Segment D, being navigated and/or drifting throughGeneral Anchorage 6 from approximately 10 AM to 4 PM. From approximately4 PM to 5 PM, the NUFORS traverses segment D, and approximately from 5PM to 8 PM traverses Segments C and B which are nearby the ports andpiers of San Francisco and Oakland. Starting approximately at 8 PM, theNUFORS again can be navigated east and north of Treasure Island, endingin General Anchorage 6 to be located during the evening north of SanFrancisco and Oakland, and then be navigated to be traversing Segment Dapproximately from 6 AM to 7 AM the next morning, thereby for the mostpart never being navigated in the vicinity of Segment A. The segmenttraversal for this more northern route, in short form, is [Segments: E,D, C, B, F, D, C, B, F, E]. A segment traversal for a more southernroute, in short form, is [Segments: A, B, C, D, F, B, C, D, F, A], forthe segments depicted in FIG. 11.

Another exemplary system can be to have one NUFORS travel the morenorthern route, while another NUFORS travels the more southern route.Additionally, multiple NUFORSs can be navigated along the same sequenceof Segments, as long as they are separated in time and distanceaccording to local navigation rules. For example, nearby New York City,one NUFORS during one half of the day can be navigated north up theHudson River, while a second NUFORS during the same half of the day canbe navigated south.

A similar navigational route can be established so that a NUFORS rarelyis navigated in the vicinity of Segment C, that is, navigating theNUFORS east and north of Treasure Island to directly connect Segments Band D. For either such route, a NUFORS can be navigated solelyeast/north of Treasure Island (for example, traversing, in order,[Segments: E, D, B, B, D, E]). Navigating east/north of Treasure Islandhas the advantage of not requiring the NUFORS to cross shipping channelssuch as are present in Segment C (though for some years 2010 onwards,there is a navigational constraint north/east of Treasure Island due tothe reconstruction of the East Bay bridge).

By navigating a NUFORS along these exemplary routes, occupants of theNUFORS can be provided convenient access to land portals to travel toany of a variety of locations for purposes such as education, work,shopping, entertainment, etc. Such navigational routes also allow one ormore residences on a NUFORS to be used as a floating office. While theabove examples to navigate a NUFORS along segments B and C to provideresidents access to land-based portals approximately at the beginningand end of each work day, navigation along such segments can alsoprovide workers access to an office on the NUFORS, also approximately atthe beginning and end of the day (with a tender used to transportworkers to and from the NUFORS at random times during the day).

By locating a NUFORS for more hours each day in the general anchorageareas of urban waterways, such as in the vicinity of either Segment A orSegment E, fuel can be saved to navigate the NUFORS to more distantlocations in such waterways, for example, the northern or southern partsof San Francisco Bay. For example, consider the case where a NUFORS islocated mostly about Segment E between Berkeley and Marin county. Inthis case, the NUFORS optionally can be navigated north to under theRichmond San Rafael bridge into the San Pablo Bay, with its views of thehills of northern East Bay county and southern Sonoma county. Anothersuch option can be to navigate a NUFORS west towards the Golden GateBridge north of Alcatraz Island and then back east south of AlcatrazIsland, returning to General Anchorage 6 in the vicinity of Segments Eand D. This latter route, while providing some of the most beautifulviews of the San Francisco Bay, also crosses more shipping channels, andthus needs extra fuel to propel the NUFORS at higher speeds, whennecessary, to avoid any other (larger) vessel traffic.

Two or more NUFORSs can share the same route (separated in time ordistance according to vessel regulations). For example, two NUFORSs canbe separated by a few hundred yards as they are navigated along asimilar route on the Hudson River between Manhattan and New Jersey.

In those urban regions where two or more NUFORSs are used, one or moretenders can be shared to transport occupants to/from a NUFORS toland-based portals. These tenders can belong to a NUFORS, or beassociated with a transportation service based on land (for example,Baydelta Maritime located at Pier 15 in San Francisco). Such use oftenders allow a NUFORS to be navigated for less time near land portals(which can be close to more trafficked shipping channels), with theextra distance to be covered by tenders.

6.6.9 NUFORS Navigation That Minimizes Use of Energy, Water, and WasteDisposal

One major logistic advantage of residential housing or office space onland is the simplicity of supplying the main utility needs of oil,electricity and water, typically provided through pipes or conduits thatare underground. Indeed, a majority of traditional houseboats generallyare fixed in place, with no navigation needs, because the houseboatsrely on the same type of physical connections to utilities as dobuildings on land. For buildings on land, residential or office, it isalso relatively easy to remove wastes, for example, by putting physicalwastes in containers that are outside the building for collection bypublic or private waste disposal services, or by using pipes andconduits to transport wastes that are mostly fluid to public watertreatment facilities. All that is needed is to physically connect thebuilding to local utility infrastructures.

Because a NUFORS can be unable to regularly acquire and dispose ofutility-based resources through physical connections that are mostlyconstant, the NUFORS can make periodic connections to land-portals asdescribed above, either mooring and/or using a tender. One way tominimize the frequency of such transfers and the volume of resourcestransferred to and from a NUFORS can be to acquire and dispose of suchresources onboard the NUFORS.

Waste disposal can be minimized by using environmentalally-friendlywaste technologies (e.g., volume minimizing toilets, and filteringsystems for shower water). For example, Sancor Industries sells theEnvirolet Waterless Composting toilet system, a mostly waterless toiletsystem that uses minimal amounts of water and requires minimal amountsof storage for the composted wastes. Similar technology can be used fortreatment of wastewater from showers and sinks. Compacting machines canbe used to minimize the amount of space needed to store other wastessuch as glass/plastic containers, etc.

6.6.10 Navigation System and Energy Management System Control

The navigation system of a NUFORS can be programmed with daily, weeklyand monthly navigation routes based on the above constraints, routeswhich can be used manually by one of more human pilots, and/or byautomated navigation control systems (e.g., an autopilot). Any randomincidents can be handled with reprogramming of routes. The navigationsystem either can interface with electronic controls of one or moreonboard engines to control movement of the NUFORS, or can interface withthe navigational system of a second vessel (e.g., a tugboat) that ispushing or pulling a NUFORS.

A variety of electronic navigation systems can be used to navigate aNUFORS, for example, systems incorporating technology found in U.S. Pat.No. 6,826,478 (“Inertial navigation system for mobile objects withconstraints”), U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,113 (“Navigation method for a meansof transport”), U.S. Pat. No. 6,567,743 (“Method and device fordetermining a route from a starting location to a final destination”),U.S. Pat. No. 5,969,665 (“Method and apparatus for control of vesselmaneuvering”), U.S. Pat. No. 5,633,644 (“Processing for monitoring shiptraffic at sea while recognizing oil spills and potential shipcollisions”), U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,287 (“Navigation display apparatus forcollision avoidance utilizing polygonal safety regions and predicteddanger areas”), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,341 (“System for sea navigationor traffic control/assistance”).

Standardized software packages, and/or their circuit equivalents, can beused as part of the navigation system for a NUFORS. For example, VNS MAXPro (www.nobeltec.com) is a visual navigation system that includes thefollowing properties: real time vessel positioning, quilting forseamless chart integration, distance and bearing to activemark/route/target, unlimited route and waypoint placement, GPSupload/download, auto-pilot support and other features. Garmin Ltd.(www.garmin.com), and Sperry Marine, offer, a variety of hardware andsoftware systems for marine radar, traffic monitoring, autopiloting,sonar and other navigation-related equipment that can be used as part ofthe navigation system for a NUFORS. Such navigation systems easilyaccept navigational routes (e.g., through anchorage areas) specified atleast as sets of times and geographical coordinates.

A variety of daily navigational routes are disclosed herein as examples,typically as sets of latitude and longitude coordinates; or sets oflatitude and longitude coordinates and start/stop or duration times.Such exemplary coordinates and exemplary time points are approximate.For example, if a section of a navigational route starts at 12 PM, thesection can be started at 12:05 PM with the vessel being navigatedslightly faster to reach the next section around its starting time.Computer programs, such as GPSBabel (www.gpsbabel.org), can be used toconvert the latitude/longitude/timing information, for the navigationroutes disclosed herein, into data files that can be used by a pluralityof commercial navigation and autopilot systems. GPX (the GPS ExchangeFormat) also can be used to represent the latitude/longitude/timinginformation disclosed herein, for interchange between navigationalsystems.

The energy management system for a NUFORS can either be a separatehardware/software apparatus that exchanges navigational information withthe navigation system, or the energy management system can be asub-system within the navigation system. In both cases, for example, theenergy management system can comprise one or more computer programs anddatabases that use information about time, location and fuel statusprovided by the navigation system to determine navigational routes useminimal energy, routes that are communicated to the navigation system.

Further, such a navigational system and/or energy management system caninclude, or be implemented by, one or more computing systems, which can,in turn, include, for example, a processor, memory, storage, andinput/output devices (e.g., monitor, keyboard, disk drive, Internetconnection, etc.) Such computing system(s) can include circuitry orother specialized hardware for carrying out some or all aspects of theprocesses. In some operational settings, computing system(s) may beconfigured as a system that includes one or more units, each of which isconfigured to carry out some aspects of the processes in eithersoftware, hardware, or some combinations of the two.

Additionally, a media that can be read by a computer also can be used tostore (e.g., tangibly embody) one or more computer programs forperforming any one of the above-described processes by means of acomputer. The one or more computer programs may be written, for example,in a general-purpose programming language (e.g., C, Java, Ada, Lisp) orsome specialized application-specific language. The one or more computerprograms may be compiled for execution on a processor, or for beingloaded into programmable hardware devices such as field programmablegate arrays (FPGAs) or application specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

6.7 Other Exemplary Aspects

NUFORS NAVIGATION TO ASSIST HOMELAND SECURITY: Urban waterways, such asSan Francisco Bay, can be strategic centers for security for theircountries, and as such, can require extra surveillance activity. ANUFORS can provide a slow-moving platform for a sensor platform forproviding regular coverage of traffic in the region. As a (for-fee)service to security agencies, such as coast guards, one or more sensorpackages (e.g., day and night vision cameras, radar, radiation sensors)can be placed aboard the NUFORS, with the gathered data securelytransmitted to local security agencies. Such cameras can also sendsignals to commercial security monitoring companies. A coast guardagency can rent an office on a NUFORS.

NUFORS USED AS SETTING FOR REALITY TELEVISION: The novelty of a NUFORS,and the novelty of a lifestyle of living in a residence that isnavigated in an urban region, has new and useful entertainment value, asa NUFORS has never been used as a plot element in a television show,movie or advertisement. The entertainment uses of a NUFORS include beingused as a setting for reality television shows, similar to the RealWorld, which has used land-based residences in cities such as SanFrancisco, New York, Seattle and Sydney, all of which have waterways inwhich to use to the methods and systems disclosed herein. For example,“Floating World—SFBay” can feature a group of young, naval architectsliving together while competing to design NUFORS vessels and residencesduring the day, and partying in the city at night.

7. SPECIFICATIONS FOR OTHER URBAN REGIONS

The above description of the embodiments, alternative embodiments, andspecific examples, using the region of San Francisco Bay, are given asexamples and should not be viewed as limiting. What follows are similarexemplary descriptions for three other urban regions around the world:Rio de Janeiro, Lisbon, Sydney and Tokyo.

7.1 Baia de Guanabara/Rio de Janeiro

Characteristics of Baia de Guanabara as an urban region are the adjacentcity/cities including Rio de Janeiro and Niteroi; where the adjacentocean is the Atlantic Ocean; where the (natural) isolating barriers arethe hills of Rio de Janeiro and Niteroi; where the two-dimensionalnavigational routes include in/out-bound ocean traffic in front of theRio-Niteroi Bridge to the Rio port along the waterfront from NorthCentro thru Sao Cristovao to Caju, ferry traffic between Rio de Janeiroand Niteroi, as well as recreational and fishing vessels crisscrossingthe Bay; and where there are ample resources and opportunities,including social (e.g., in Ipanema, Copacabana, Botofago, Flamengo,etc.); medical (e.g., Hospital Copa d'Or), educational (e.g.,Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro), occupational (e.g., the Centrobusiness, etc.); entertainment (e.g., along Avenida Atlantica inCopacabana); transportation (e.g., City Busmove, Frescao executive bus,and the Rio subway); and telecommunications (e.g., the many landline,wireless, cable and Internet systems that are commercially availablefrom companies such as Embratel and Oi).

One example of a daily route is for a NUFORS to remain anchored, orslowly adrift, in the northern part of Baia de Guanabara starting aroundmidnight. Then at about 7 AM, the NUFORS starts travelling south, in thewaters offshore of the Rio port waterfront (a short distance totransport residences to land transportation portals), and then islocated much of the morning and afternoon navigating in and around thatpart of the Baia off of the Urca area of Rio, and where ocean surfaceconditions are clement, as far south as being off the beaches ofCopacabana and Ipanema. Around 5 PM, the NUFORS can be navigated back tothe waters that are offshore the Rio port, to pick up residentsreturning from their daily activities on land. Depending on watertraffic and near-shore ocean conditions, the NUFORS can be navigatedback up into the northern part of the Baia; or offshore close to thebeaches and nightlife of Ipanema, Copacabana, Botofago, and Flamengo,before heading back to the northern Baia area.

7.2 Tagus (Tejo) Bay/Lisbon

Characteristics of Tagus (Tejo) Bay as an urban region are the adjacentcity/cities including Lisbon and Almada; where the adjacent ocean is theAtlantic Ocean; where the (natural) isolating barriers are the hills ofLisbon and the peninsula south of Almada; where the two-dimensionalnavigational routes include in/out-bound ocean traffic under the Ponte25 de Abril bridge to the Lisbon port along the waterfront from Alges toAlfama, ferry traffic between Lisbon and Trafaria, Porto Brandao,Cacilbas, Seixal and Barreiro, as well as recreational and fishingvessels crisscrossing the Bay; and where there are ample resources andopportunities, including social (e.g., in Alfama, Bairro Alto, Baixa,Belem, etc.); medical (e.g., Hospitais Civis de Lisboa), educational(e.g., Universidade de Lisboa), occupational (e.g., the central businessdistrict near Sete Rios and Praca de Espanha, etc.); entertainment(e.g., in Bairro Alto and Doca de Alcantara); transportation (e.g.,Metropolitano de Lisboa and Canis, ferries out of the Cais do Sodreferry terminal); and telecommunications (e.g., the many landline,wireless, cable and Internet systems from that are commerciallyavailable from companies such as Portugal Telecom and VodafonePortugal). One more similarity with San Francisco is that the mainbridge of Lisbon, the Ponte 25 de Abril, has long been noted for itsvisual similarity to Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

One example of a daily route is for a NUFORS to remain anchored, orslowly adrift, in the waters mostly east of central Lisbon and mostlyabove Barreiro (for example, at a latitude of 38.71 degrees north and−9.07 degrees east and related locations about 6 miles northeast of thePonte 25 de Abril) starting around midnight. Then at about 7 AM, theNUFORS starts travelling west, in the waters offshore of the Lisbonwaterfront (e.g., using tenders to transport residents to piers that arenearby public transportation), and then is located much of the morningand afternoon navigating west of the Ponte 25 de Abril offshore ofOeiras, approximately 6 miles west of the Ponte 25 de Abril around thenoontime (a distance of approximately 12 nautical miles from midnight tonoon, at an average speed of approximately one nautical mile an hour,much like the average speeds used in some of the examples for navigationin the Bay of San Francisco). Around 5 PM, the NUFORS can be navigatedback to the waters that are offshore the Lisbon port, to pick upresidents returning from their daily land-based activities. Depending onwater traffic and near-shore ocean conditions, the NUFORS can benavigated further east to the beaches areas of Cascais and Estoril, orfurther northeast of Lisbon in the waters around the Ponte Vasco deGama.

7.3 Sydney Harbor/Sydney

Characteristics of Sydney Harbour as an urban region are the adjacentcity/cities including Sydney and North Sydney; where the adjacent oceanis the Pacific Ocean; where the (natural) isolating barriers include theVaucluse peninsula; where the two-dimensional navigational routesinclude shipping traffic on either side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge,ferry traffic from Sydney Ferries' hub at Circular Quay to destinationssuch as Parramatta, Manly and Watsons Bay, as well as recreational andfishing vessels crisscrossing the Bay; and where there are ampleresources and opportunities, including social (e.g., restaurants, clubsand museums throughout Circular Quay, City Centre, Darling Harbour,Kings Cross and Darlinghurst, etc.); medical (e.g., Sydney Hospital),educational (e.g., University of Sydney), occupational (e.g., thecentral business district south of Sydney Cove, etc.); entertainment(e.g., the entertainment district in Darling Harbour, etc.);transportation (e.g., Sydney Buses, CityRail and Metro Light Rail); andtelecommunications (e.g., the many landline, wireless, cable andInternet systems that are commercially available from companies such asSydney Telecommunications, Macquarie Telecom, Vodafone Pacific, etc.).

One example of a daily route is for a NUFORS to remain anchored, orslowly adrift, in the northern part of Sydney Harbour (for example, inthe waters between Watsons Bay and Georges Heights) starting aroundmidnight. Then at about 4 AM, the NUFORS starts travelling towards theSydney Harbour bridge, arriving around 8 AM to 9 AM in the watersoffshore of The Rocks and Circular Quay (a short distance to transportresidences to land transportation portals). During the rest of themorning and afternoon, the NUFORS can either be navigated back to thenorthern part of the bay, or can pass underneath the Sydney Harbourbridge to travel in the inner harbour. Around 4 PM, the NUFORS can benavigated back to the waters that are offshore downtown Sydney, to pickup residents returning from their daily activities on land.

7.4 Tokyo Bay/Tokyo

Characteristics of Tokyo Bay as an urban region are the adjacentcity/cities including Tokyo, Kawasaki and Chiba; where the adjacentocean is the Pacific Ocean; where the (natural) isolating barriersinclude the Boso peninsula; where the two-dimensional navigationalroutes include shipping traffic on either side of the Trans-Tokyo BayHighway, ferry traffic within the Bay (for example, to Chiba, Kawasakior Yokosuka) and further (for example, to Kyushu), as well asrecreational and fishing vessels crisscrossing the Bay; and where thereare ample resources and opportunities, including social (e.g.,restaurants, clubs and museums throughout Meguro, Taito/Ueno andShinjuku districts (-ku), etc.); medical (e.g., Sanno Hospital),educational (e.g., University of Tokyo), occupational (e.g., thebusiness districts in Nihombashi, Marunouchi and Shinjuku) entertainment(e.g., the entertainment areas in Akasaka, Ginza, Roppongi, Shibuya,etc.); transportation (e.g., Tokyo Metro, Japan Railway, the Toei buses,etc.); and telecommunications (e.g., the many landline, wireless, cableand Internet systems that are commercially available from companies suchas NTT, KDDI and Softbank, etc.).

One example of a daily route is for a NUFORS to remain anchored, orslowly adrift, in the northern part of Tokyo Bay (for example, in thewaters south of Koto-ku and Edogawa-ku) starting around midnight. Thenat about 4 AM, the NUFORS starts travelling towards the Port of Tokyo,arriving around 8 AM to 9 AM in the waters offshore of Odaiba Island.During the rest of the morning and afternoon, the NUFORS can either benavigated back to the northern part of the bay (south of Koto-ku andEdogawa-ku), or can head towards the Trans-Tokyo bridge to traveltowards the southern part of the harbour. Around 4 PM, the NUFORS can benavigated back to the waters that are offshore of Odaiba Island, to pickup residents returning from their daily activities on land.

8. OTHER EMBODIMENTS

OPTIMIZATION OF INTERMODAL TRANSPORT—For some people using a NUFORS, theoccasional or scheduled transport to shore, for example, once or twice aday, will be sufficient, for example to go to work or school, to returnhome, or to go to social events. With a variety of tenders, andnavigational routes, for example, as disclosed in FIGS. 10, 11 and 12,such occasional or scheduled transport needs can be satisfied.

However, for other people using a NUFORS, transport that is morefrequent or unscheduled, with shorter transport times, will bepreferred. For example, a business using part of a NUFORS as an office,might want to transport clients to and from the NUFORS many timesthroughout a weekday. Or, for example, a family living on part of aNUFORS will, on weekends want to transport themselves multiple randomtimes to and from the NUFORS to meet with friends, go shopping/dining,attend a medical appointment, etc.

To satisfy more frequent intermodal transport needs, other navigationalroutes can be generated that locate a NUFORS closer to onshore areas ofan urban region. For example, consider the Bay of San Francisco. FIG.10, discussed above, shows a navigational route that allows residents ofa NUFORS to regularly make use of both sides of the bay, both SanFrancisco and East Bay, at the expense of greater inter-modal transporttimes to one side of the bay when the NUFORS is closer to the other sideof the bay.

However, for those using a NUFORS such that they travel mostly to oneside of the bay (e.g., the city of San Francisco), there are manynavigational routes that can be used to navigate a NUFORS that providemore opportunities for intermodal transport with shorter transit times.For example, consider FIG. 13, a variant of FIG. 10, where thenavigational route mostly is close to the San Francisco side of the bay.The beginning and ending of a day can have the NUFORS located in thevicinity of the navigation routes of Segment A, adrift in the northernend of General Anchorage 9. In the early morning, heads north tonavigate segments B, C and D during the day.

For many locations on segments B, C and D, a NUFORS will be less than afew nautical miles away from land portals, such as Pier 38 and the FerryBuilding. Using a tender, such as a Minor Offshore 25 (MO25) cruiser,residents of the NUFORS can be transported in ten to five minutes atmany random times throughout the day. The MO25 is a sturdy boat, withcomfortable seating room for four, and good fuel consumption (2.3gallons at 6.7 knots, and 8.7 gallons at 24 knots).

For all locations on the navigational route depicted in FIG. 13 that areapproximately one nautical mile from a pier, the MO25 can transportresidents in about ten minutes (similar to waiting times for a cab inSan Francisco) while using about half a gallon of fuel (approximately$2, compared to $3 for the first fifth of a mile transport in a taxi inSan Francisco). For navigational routes with greater range, such as FIG.10, where the NUFORS can be about four nautical miles from the piers ofSan Francisco, residents of the NUFORS can be transported to a pier inthe same ten minutes while traveling at 24 knots, while using about 1.5gallons of fuel (approximately $6, similar to the cost of a taxi ridefor two miles in San Francisco). Temporarily docking a NUFORS at a pier,such as Pier 38 allows residents to instantly move from/to the NUFORSto/from the land (e.g., docking at Pier 38 for less than four hoursduring the day can cost $1/foot, while costing $2/foot for an overnightberth).

MINIMAL NAVIGATION OF A NUFORS IN ANCHORAGE AREAS—Consider, for example,a location on the waters of San Francisco Bay at coordinates latitude 37degrees, 49 minutes, north; and longitude 122 degrees, 23 minutes, west,located inside Temporary Anchorage Area 7. This location has a varietyof favorable characteristics for mostly permanently locating a NUFORS,in particular, its views (the skyline of San Francisco, the greenery ofYerba Buena Island, with Marin and Oakland in the distance), while beingno more than a few nautical miles from most of the piers of SanFrancisco (a ride of ten minutes at reasonable powerboat speeds of 6knots). While anchorage areas can be used for anchoring for extendedperiod of times, they usually aren't meant for permanentanchorage—otherwise the first person to anchor a NUFORS in any onelocation in an anchorage would effectively obtain legal title to thatlocation (until, possibly, such times as urban waterways are crowdedwith NUFORSes, when additional governmental regulation may be imposed).For that reason, a variety of methods and systems are disclosed hereinto navigate a NUFORS through one or more anchorages in an urban regionwhile only temporarily at anchor, or passing though, any one location inan anchorage area.

However, in some waterways, very long term use of a small area in ananchorage is permitted. In such cases where such long term anchorage ispermitted, the NUFORS can mostly remain at rest in that small area,except, for example, for occasional movement to facilitate intermodaltransport, or for movement for entertainment or relaxation purposes(e.g., to view the sun setting under the Golden Gate bridge by movingfrom one of the anchorage areas in the Bay to a location directly duewest of the Bridge off of the northern waterfronts of San Francisco).

9. CONCLUSION

The above description of the embodiments, alternative embodiments, andspecific examples, is given by way of illustration and is not intendedto be limited to the specific forms set forth herein. Additionally,although a feature may appear to be described in connection with aparticular embodiment, a person skilled in the technology will recognizethat various features of the described embodiments can be combined inaccordance with the invention. Moreover, aspects of the inventiondescribed in connection with an embodiment may stand alone as aninvention. Moreover, it will be appreciated that various modificationsand alterations can be made by those skilled in the technology withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. The invention isnot to be limited by the foregoing illustrative details and embodimentsshown, but should be accorded the widest scope consistent with theclaims along with their full scope of equivalents.

1. A navigated structure with residences for independent parties,comprising: a) a first vessel operable to be navigated in the waterwaysof a single urban region within a bay, said first vessel being moved fora plurality of hours for said days of a year in which said first vesselis moved; b) at least one electronic navigation system operable tocontrol movement of said first vessel along at least one route throughsaid waterways, said first vessel being moved for most days of a year;c) at least one electronic energy management system operable todetermine at least one navigational route for use by said navigationsystem to control movement of said first vessel, said navigational routeincluding coordinates of at least one anchorage area in said bay,movement through said anchorage used to minimize fuel consumption ofsaid first vessel; and d) at least two residential structures supportedby said first vessel, said residential structures occupied byindependent parties, said residential structures separate or coupled toeach other, said residential structures permanently supported by saidfirst vessel, said navigation system controlled by requests of saidindependent parties.
 2. A navigated structure with residences forindependent parties, comprising: a) a first vessel operable to benavigated in the waterways of a single urban region within a bay, saidfirst vessel being moved for a plurality of hours for said days of ayear in which said first vessel is moved; b) at least one electronicnavigation system operable to control movement of said first vesselalong at least one route through said waterways, said first vessel beingmoved for most days of a year, said navigational route includingcoordinates of at least one anchorage area in said bay, movement throughsaid anchorage used to minimize fuel consumption of said first vessel;and c) at least two residential structures supported by said firstvessel, said residential structures occupied by independent parties,said residential structures separate or coupled to each other, saidresidential structures permanently supported by said first vessel, saidnavigation system controlled by requests of said independent parties;and d) a second, waterborne, vessel used as a tender to transfer aresident between said first vessel and a land-based portal.
 3. Anavigated structure with offices for independent parties, comprising: a)a first vessel operable to be navigated in the waterways of a singleurban region within a bay, said first vessel being moved for a pluralityof hours for said days of a year in which said first vessel is moved; b)at least one electronic navigation system operable to control movementof said first vessel along at least one route through said waterways,said first vessel being moved for most days of a year; c) at least oneelectronic energy management system operable to determine at least onenavigational route for use by said navigation system to control movementof said first vessel, said navigational route including coordinates ofat least one anchorage area in said bay, movement through said anchorageused to minimize fuel consumption of said first vessel; and d) at leasttwo office structures supported by said first vessel, said officestructures occupied by independent parties, said office structuresseparate or coupled to each other, said office structures permanentlysupported by said first vessel, said navigation system controlled byrequests of said independent parties.
 4. A navigated structure withoffices for independent parties, comprising: a) a first vessel operableto be navigated in the waterways of a single urban region within a bay,said first vessel being moved for a plurality of hours for said days ofa year in which said first vessel is moved; b) at least one electronicnavigation system operable to control movement of said first vesselalong at least one route through said waterways, said first vessel beingmoved for most days of a year, said navigational route includingcoordinates of at least one anchorage area in said bay, movement throughsaid anchorage used to minimize fuel consumption of said first vessel;and c) at least two office structures supported by said first vessel,said office structures occupied by independent parties, said officestructures separate or coupled to each other, said office structurespermanently supported by said first vessel, said navigation systemcontrolled by requests of said independent parties; and d) a second,waterborne, vessel used as a tender to transfer a resident between saidfirst vessel and a land-based portal.